No moral victories here. A loss is a loss. A difficult schedule awaits. A sad stat from the day is the Packers offense had the ball inside the Bengals 35 seven times but only netted 9 points out of these drives. FAIL!

Studs
Franklin. Yeah, he fumbled on a stupid play call, but he was a stud today.

Jones. He's having a good season, quietly.

Matthews. Before he got injured. He is a beast, except that he has grandma hamstrings.

Shields. INT and held the big guy to reasonable mortal numbers. The TD was after a nice offensive push.

Crosby. Hey, he made 'em. So, relatively speaking, he's a stud.

Duds
Ross. One word: CUT HIM! Did anyone else think that maybe he touched that kickoff before it rolled out of bounds? I did. This guy has shown no NFL level intelligence thus far.

McCarthy: Poor offensive strategy in first half. Poor call on 4th and inches.

Williams. Might as well blitz him every down since he can't cover or make an open field tackle any more.

Rodgers. Apparently, he is human. First INT was on Jones, but that 2nd toss was a poor decision. He forces a throw Favre-like on a series where points, even a FG, could have sent Cincy into a tailspin. Instead, he gave them momentum.

Why Why Why on that early 3rd and goal did they roll Rodgers out and have Ross as the only receiving target. That needs to be someone like Cobb....not Ross. Cobb would have drawn enough attention to get Rodgers the room to score or he would have gotten himself in a position to catch the ball. Why have the 5th wr kick returner do that?

For those slamming the defense today you should know that the defense WAS NOT the problem today.

In three of Cincinati's drives they gained a total of 240 yards on 21 plays of which two of these drives were immediately following Green Bay turnovers

The OTHER 10 Cincinatt's drives resulted in 87 yards on 36 plays. One of the 10 resulted in a TD after Ross's special teams fumble and another was two kneel downs at the end by the Bengals so even if you take out those two you're still left with 8 Bengal Drives for a total of only 87 yards on 32 plays.

Nope. Defense for the most part played well enough to win. It shows on the game tape and on the stat sheet.

I don't know how many people I heard call up the after the game complaining about the defense. I just feel they need to rewatch the game and see what really happened.

I am so appointed in Rodgers right now. I know he is human and can make mistakes but he just did not look like the top rated passer in the league. The icing on the defeat cake was that 2nd INT thrown. I know that in our past the passing game was our life blood and still can be but our running game has to have more of a prominent spot in the play calling.

Mike McCarthy has to stop going for it on 4th down. Punt it away or kick a FG. Either pin the opponent back in their territory or take a shot at points. Going for it just turns into turnovers.

I am so appointed in Rodgers right now. I know he is human and can make mistakes but he just did not look like the top rated passer in the league. The icing on the defeat cake was that 2nd INT thrown. I know that in our past the passing game was our life blood and still can be but our running game has to have more of a prominent spot in the play calling.

Mike McCarthy has to stop going for it on 4th down. Punt it away or kick a FG. Either pin the opponent back in their territory or take a shot at points. Going for it just turns into turnovers.

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The problem with punting or kicking it away is MM does not trust the D or the kicker at ALL, with good reason. I hate to say it but MM was the largest DUD in all of this. His McDonkey loyalty with all of the players on this team is maddening. See Ross, Tramon, Crosby, Hawk.

Why Why Why on that early 3rd and goal did they roll Rodgers out and have Ross as the only receiving target. That needs to be someone like Cobb....not Ross. Cobb would have drawn enough attention to get Rodgers the room to score or he would have gotten himself in a position to catch the ball. Why have the 5th wr kick returner do that?

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not to mention ross ran along the goalline instead of drifting deeper to draw his man into the endzone so rodgers would not have to take on his defender at the goalline.

[quote="12theTruth, post: 514569, member: 5878" A sad stat from the day is the Packers offense had the ball inside the Bengals 35 seven times but only netted 9 points out of these drives. FAIL!

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How can that be when Franklin had a short touchdown run?

Our offense did lose this game though for sure.[/quote]

I heard them give that stat on the Packers Live edition after the game. I didn't write it down but I could have sworn that was the number. I'd be interested to know the exact number if that is not precise.

Some of you forgot to add AJ Hawk as having a good game, ge had some good run stuffs and tackled well.

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100% AGREE.....

AJ Hawk is the poster boy for fans jumping on and piling on to b!tch about a player, but he had a good game and I saw him around the ball all the time.... I saw him with fire and emotion out there. I saw him b!tching at the zebra for letting the Bengals pick him on that little criss-cross play to the left side that sprung their back for about 30 yards. That's called a lot of times.

Anyway, he's an Ohio boy and he played well yesterday. Too many fans miss it, as you say, and they just like to complain about Hawk not making huge plays.
He was good yesterday and I like the guy, short or not.

I was worried those 2 TEs would expose him in the middle of the field but that didn't really happen. He and B Jones held their own there.

Mike McCarthy has to stop going for it on 4th down. Punt it away or kick a FG. Either pin the opponent back in their territory or take a shot at points. Going for it just turns into turnovers.

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I disagree big time. A field goal would have given a six points lead with 4 minutes on the clock. If you make it, you can run down the clock and possible score a TD to make it a two possession game. If you fail, you still have a 3 point lead, so a Bengals field goal would send the game to OT. Where if you make field goal, you lose if the Bengals score a TD. So going for it was the right decision, actually it was a no brainer. Running on fourth an inches usually is the best way to pick up 1st down, even if the D-expects it (although against this stout defensive front passing might have been the smarter decision, although statistics favor the run). In short, there was nothing wrong with the play call.

Where it failed is the execution. The O-line couldn't get it done, and Franklin made matters worse by not protecting the football. Than with a lucky bounce, a mistake by Cobb (should have tackled Nelson, not stripped Nelson), again a lucky bounce and Rodgers not tackling you've lost the game. This is just an unlikely series of errors and lucky bounces, and you can't really blame one individual for it.

Hawk was good yesterday. He seems like the only player who can physically make a 1 on 1 tackle and not fall backwards. There was 1 play on the Bengals first or 2nd drive where he made a big hit on the ball carrier, stayed with him and then drove him backwards. NO ONE else makes that play. I was very impressed and surprised at his lower body strength. His hammy is always intact as well. Maybe the rest of the team should start working out with him and not with Lovat.

I disagree big time. A field goal would have given a six points lead with 4 minutes on the clock. If you make it, you can run down the clock and possible score a TD to make it a two possession game. If you fail, you still have a 3 point lead, so a Bengals field goal would send the game to OT. Where if you make field goal, you lose if the Bengals score a TD. So going for it was the right decision, actually it was a no brainer. Running on fourth an inches usually is the best way to pick up 1st down, even if the D-expects it (although against this stout defensive front passing might have been the smarter decision, although statistics favor the run). In short, there was nothing wrong with the play call.

Where it failed is the execution. The O-line couldn't get it done, and Franklin made matters worse by not protecting the football. Than with a lucky bounce, a mistake by Cobb (should have tackled Nelson, not stripped Nelson), again a lucky bounce and Rodgers not tackling you've lost the game. This is just an unlikely series of errors and lucky bounces, and you can't really blame one individual for it.

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Its not only a failure in execution but a failure in calling the play as everybody knew that the Packers can't now or have rarely under MM been able to pick up a yard on a short yardage goal line type play. This has been a problem with this Packers offensive unit for years. And the stubborn McCarthy wants to show the world his team can get a half a yard when the evidence is overwhelming they can't when they run up the gut against the stack. Now I would agree with you if you said to go for it and maybe try a QB sneak as you're closer to the line when you're a half a yard at best. Maybe have Raji in there as a full back too. But to try what they did is infuriating to me especially with a rookie RB playing in his first game

Going into the season I predicted 8-8 and with a break 9-7, but not in the playoffs. I didn't realize how bad the Redskins are, as I had the Packers 0-3. As they sit at 1-2, I still see 9-7. This is not a playoff team. This is a good team, but like the Steelers, the team has regressed. It's a shame, because it looks like Rodgers will have the same problem Favre had: can score enough to win, but a defense that will give up more.
I'm not buying into the beat reporters Kool-Aid drinking about how good this team is. Indy came into SF and pounded them Sunday. The Packers were convincingly beaten by the 49'ers. The Seahawks pounded SF as well. Washington has fallen apart and that victory was well-earned. But many picked the Bengals to challenge for the AFC title. They showed they have the horses to compete.
The Packers will never win the Super Bowl again until they find a top 10 defense to go along with Rodgers. The Bears had the opposite problem until this year: they had a good defense but couldn't score. Now they have an offense and a decent defense and they are two games ahead of Green Bay after the first three.
Another factor is the Ted Thompson inspired constant roster turnover, then expecting street guys to compete against veterans and win.
I'm not a fan of change, but after this season, it's time for reevalution. The team has built a fan-pleaser high-scoring machine, but has a spongy defense. Don't buy into how good the defense is that the beat reporters keep pounding. When you lead 30-14 and get beat, something is wrong. The score should have stayed at 14, but obviously didn't.

Before Clay Matthews departed the game we had them basically shut down. Also where is the points created by our offense off of 4 consecutive turnovers. I have been a big Capers critic but I see improvements being made defensively. They still need to improve at getting to the QB as Palmer Dalton in the 2nd half was as comfortable as heck back there.

The defense didn't hold them at the end but look at how 14 of the points were scored by the Bengals. A fumble return for a TD and a two yard gain after special teams turnover. We may not have a great defense but it was good enough for the victory today.

Hawk was good yesterday. He seems like the only player who can physically make a 1 on 1 tackle and not fall backwards. There was 1 play on the Bengals first or 2nd drive where he made a big hit on the ball carrier, stayed with him and then drove him backwards. NO ONE else makes that play. I was very impressed and surprised at his lower body strength. His hammy is always intact as well. Maybe the rest of the team should start working out with him and not with Lovat.

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Hawk used to struggle slipping through blockers and making plays on the ball carrier but since the start of 2012 he's been very good in that area. I like him and I think he does a good job leading the Defense out there. He's steady he's professional and he always keeps his cool no matter what. I think we win that game yesterday by two scores if Matthews doesn't get hurt.

Before Clay Matthews departed the game we had them basically shut down. Also where is the points created by our offense off of 4 consecutive turnovers. I have been a big Capers critic but I see improvements being made defensively. They still need to improve at getting to the QB as Palmer in the 2nd half was a comfortable as heck back there.

The defense didn't hold them at the end but look at how 14 of the points were scored by the Bengals. A fumble return for a TD and a two yard gain after special teams turnover. We may not have a great defense but it was good enough for the victory today.